Struck
by Raachuu
Summary: Near is teaching himself how to drive when he hits someone going by the name, Mello. Faced with charges to sue, Near will do anything to keep that from happening. Including working for the man. What jobs does this guy have in store for him? MxN
1. Pain

**Yet another Mello x Near fic... Again, it was supposed to be a one-shot turned into something else.**

**Well, read and enjoy!  
**

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Near checked the speedometer and glanced at the road, everything clear. He glanced over his shoulder nervously, he was going a bit too slow and was worried that someone might be driving behind him.

The young white haired boy was teaching himself to drive, he'd seen his parents do it plenty of times but they couldn't teach him. Well, his mother was paralyzed from the neck down and watching his younger sibling, and his father was dead. So he had to teach himself, and a lot later than usual. He was seventeen years old, though most kids in his neighborhood who went to the nearby school all knew how to at age sixteen. Near didn't socialize with them though; too busy taking care of his family. That, and he was a home-school student.

Near hardly made a good father figure... The boy was too childish, and had experience in teaching his younger sister zip. He was very intelligent but had trouble in the life department. Driving wasn't something he had a lot of knowledge with. But hey, how hard can it be?

He ripped his gaze away from the empty street behind him and to the front, but saw a blonde man right in front of him. He screamed and slammed his foot on the brake, but the man went down along with a metallic _THUD_, no longer visible.

He gasped and clawed at the car door lock, trying to get out. Once he pushed open the door he ran around the front of the car and stared at the crumbled man on the asphalt.

"Sir!"

"Nngg..." The man groaned painfully from his crooked spot on the ground.

"Sir, are you alright? Sir!" The white haired teen knelt next to the man. He was blonde with a black leather jacket covering his upper torso while tight black leather jeans clung to elongated legs, black combat boots laced all the way up to his knees. His leg was bent at an odd angle and his head rested on his right arm, he was facing away from the car.

"Aughh. Yeah... I'm fine."

"C-Can you stand?" Near gently tugged his hair, staring at the man nervously.

"Yeah..." There was a loud grunt as the man's body shook violently.

Near rushed around to face the man, grabbing his arms, and tried to pull him up. The man was too heavy for him, but the blonde head slowly lifted and Near met beautiful blue orbs.

Fair skin fit a perfectly delicate facial frame, long golden eyelashes brushed soft cheekbones. The man was perhaps around nineteen or twenty. But despite the beautiful face, there was a jagged shaped scar melted on the left side of his face.

Near gasped, staring at the pockmark, gray eyes wide.

"Augh." He clung to Near's arms head lolling back down to his chest, "It appears as though I can't stand..."

"Oh no..." Near mumbled under his breath... And damn did he mean it...

"Listen kid," The man huffed, "in my front pants pocket underneath me, is my phone. Retrieve it and press two, then dial. Then hold the phone up to my ear, okay?"

"Ah-Alright..." He gently pushed the man over, but no amount of gentleness could stop the pain the man received.

"Fuck..." The man groaned, his teeth grinding.

Near poked around in the front leather pocket and procured a sleek black cell phone, flipping it open he pressed two, then the TALK button. He held it to the man's left ear.

"Matt?" He growled into the phone, "I just got hit by a car..."

"What?" Cried an incredulous voice, "Are you alright?"

"No you shithead... Listen, I want you to meet me at the hospital... … Hey there's a bunny..."

"Ohhh! Okay yeah I'll be there!" _Click_!

"A bunny?" Near asked as he shut the phone, holding it tightly to his chest, staring at the man.

"Mhm, call 9-1-1."

Near quickly did as he was told, he honestly hoped the man wasn't in any serious health condition. His family couldn't afford to be sued...

Within a few minutes there was an ambulance there, quickly loading Mello onto the stretcher. As Near watched the ambulance pull away two police officers approached him, one was a small petite blonde woman, and the other a tall handsome African-American man.

He spoke with a heavy gruff voice, "Alright kid, we'll need your information."

"I-I understand." Near grumbled.

Near knew how this lawsuit stuff worked, police took your info, gave it to the victim's lawyer, victim sues, you lose everything... Great.

"I'm going to ask for your driver's license."

Near almost groaned out loud... He glanced at his feet, not doing anything, not saying a word.

"Young man," The woman stepped forward, "he asked for your driver's license."

"I don't have one."

The two sighed and the man stepped forward, the soft clinging of cuffs clacked together, "Then I'm going to have to take you in."

Near nodded and turned around, placing his hands behind his back quietly accepting his arrest.

Once in the police cruiser the woman asked Near all sorts of questions, name, his age, parents, residence, and school.

Near answered truthfully, Nate River, seventeen, dad, Anthony River was dead, mother, Lillian River is a paraplegic, 4232 Tervan Avenue, and home schooled.

The woman and man in the front exchanged nervous glances. This kid was all kinds of fucked up.

Once he made it to Juvenile Hall, he got the one phone call, immediately calling home.

"Hello?" It was his little sister Abby.

"Abby! It's Near." He felt reassured by his little sister's high pitched voice. Even if she was annoying and stole all his toys...

"Near! Where are you?" She gasped.

"May I talk to mom?"

"Yeah sure! Hang on... MOM! MOMMMAAA!" There was a loud crashing sound and very labored breathing coming from Abby, she was probably running around the house and had knocked over the old baby gate.

"Near? Near! Where are you?" It was his mother.

"Mom... I'm in Juvenile Hall. I... I took the car out and I accidentally hit a man." He bit his lip and waited for the disturbingly long silence on the other end.

"I'm going to have Mrs. Valentino come get you..." She grumbled.

"Oooh mom's angry!" Abby giggled then hung up.

"M-Mom?" He just stared at the phone as the dead dial tone came up.

"Alright, kid. Come on."

Near was led away and into a lone cell closest to the entrance, he sat on the hard bench and stared at the cell in front of him, occupied by two younger boys.

"What are you in for?" One of them asked, a dark evil looking boy. He was around fifteen, with shaggy black hair.

"I hit someone with a car."

"That's not your fault?" The other one raised a brown eyebrow, he had short sandy hair and a strange looking nose ring hanging from in between his two nostrils. Resembling some sort of bull, he was probably Near's own age.

"I didn't have my driver's license."

"Ah bummer." The raven chuckled, leaning back against the wall, lacing his fingers together and resting his head in makeshift pillow.

"Indeed." Near nodded quietly.

The sandy haired one eyed him curiously, "How long are you going to be in here?"

"My mother sent our neighbor to get me." Near answered, letting the boy estimate that time himself.

His lip slid out in a pout, "Oh man... I thought I'd get to chill with you. You're a cute one. Maybe a squealer..."

Near tugged on his hair, staring at the other in horror.

"Don't mind him. He's a real gay one..." The black haired one snorted, smirking at the other.

The 'gay one' grinned at Near for quite sometime, until one of the officers came to his cell unlocking it.

"Nate River, someone is here for you."

Near walked past the two cellmates and shuddered when the one called out seductively, "Bye Nate."

"Goodbye." He muttered before speeding up to the officer, as if that would protect him from leering brown eyes.

He came out into the police station lobby and was greeted with his angry looking neighbor, Mrs. Valentino.

"Near!" She called, the soft trilling purr at the end of her R's comforted him immediately.

Viola Valentino was a tall beautiful Italian woman, long black hair swept in long curls around her waist, bright white teeth stood out against darkly tanned skin. She was middle-aged, but aging had done wonders to her, laugh lines made up a lovely wise face.

She had one child, Zeal, Abby's best friend, the two nine-year olds did everything together. Grew up with each other. Like sisters except Abby was small, pale, with fine straight white blonde hair and gray eyes, while Zeal had a bronze tan, with messy curly black locks and wild brown eyes. The two were both the spitting image of their mothers.

"I cannot believe you! Darling Near is a criminal!" She threw her arms around his neck anyways. She was like an aunt to him, someone to care for him when his mother is unable to.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Valentino." Near muttered into her shoulder.

"Come, let us go home."

"Wait just a moment ma'am." An officer quickly intersected them, blocking the path to the exit.

Vicious brown eyes narrowed, "What is it?" She grit her teeth, "Can't you see he has suffered enough for today? We will pay charges later."

"No. The man he hit wants to be paid a visit. He asked to see Nate."

Near gulped down a harsh lump lodged in his throat.

"What? We have no business with that man until he's out of the hospital!" Viola Valentino was very a argumentative lady. Italian blood, perhaps?

"Nate has no choice but to go see him. He's threatening to raise charges if he doesn't get to talk to him."

"I don't have a choice, Mrs. Valentino." Near said quietly, gently pulling his hair, thinking about the horrors he'd have to face.

"Then I will come." Mrs. Valentino nodded fiercely

"I'm not sure I can allow that..." The police officer grumbled, "But I'm sure you can sit outside the room."

"That's fine." She nodded agreeably.

Near knew Mrs. Valentino was lying. As soon as she got up to that room, she'd probably barge right in and start bitching about how the man should be more careful concerning car vs pedestrian safety.

But it was better than being alone.

"Which hospital?"

"Sacred Medical." The man said gruffly.

Sacred Medical was a hospital not even five minutes away, it was the large hospital where Abby was born.

"Alright, come Near." She took his hand and led him around the officer and into the parking curb, quickly hopping into her stylish red Miata, unlocking the passenger door for Near.

"Okay," She started as she pulled off of the curb, driving towards the Sacred Medical hospital, "When you get in. I want you to apologize sincerely, they are going to want to press charges, but considering your family's economic condition you can't afford that. So I think the best thing to do is to..." She glanced at him, "move out of town and act like you never existed. Leave your family behind because they can't afford your problems. And it would be mighty selfish to-"

"Mrs. Valentino!" Near cried, "I can't just drop everything and move out of state... My mother paid everything to get me into that college and I can't leave..."

The reason Near's family was so poor was because number one, their mother couldn't have a job due to her medical condition, and two, because she gave up the rest of her money so Near could get into the country's best college. His loving mother knew his genius abilities could stretch farther than their tiny town's colleges, and go to something big. And so she gave everything for him.

It pained him, but yet, he was glad someone cared so much about his dreams.

"Oh... yeah." They pulled into the parking lot of Sacred Medical, and hitched a ride on one of those hospital golfcarts.

"Well then I don't know what to tell you, Near." She said quietly, brown eyes sad, she glanced at her perfectly manicured hands, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He said assuredly. But it wasn't okay... Nothing was okay. They hardly got by on just one can of ravioli each night, now how would they manage?

They reached the clean interior of the hospital, the ice cold air-conditioning wasn't helping the rancid smell of cleaning supplies, and sick people.

You'd think sick people didn't have a smell... But they do. The smell of uncontrolled excrement on their bodies was as blatant as a slap in the face. Most of them couldn't get up to use the restroom. The smell of germs... Hospitals horrified every little inch of Near. He wished badly to run out and gulp in the fresh air of the outside world. Much better than a scary hospital.

"Yes, we're looking for a man who came in today who got hit by a car?" Mrs. Valentino slammed her hands on the large round desk that was planted in the middle of the lobby, and stared into the dead eyes of the secretary.

"Ah yes, fourth floor, room 407. Are you relatives?"

"No, but he asked for us." Mrs. Valentino nodded her head in Near's direction.

"Carry on." She turned back to a sexy bikini magazine, smacking her gum loudly.

"Idiot." Mrs. Valentino grouched as she punched the elevator button, "Lucky for us, she was too lazy to do any sort of background check..."

Near listened to her talk and talk, the Hispanic accent of her voice he found very comforting, and by the time the elevator doors swooshed open he had completely forgot he was in a hospital.

Then he stepped out of the elevator and was immediately hit by a wall of the _'Power of Pine-sol baby'. _He was almost gagging by the time he reached room 407.

Mrs. Valentino's tan manicured hand reached up to tap at the door.

No answer...

She shoved open the door and barged right in, glowering at the man lying on the white hospital bed.

He had a cast on his right leg and another cast on his right arm, the left side of his body almost completely untouched, apart from a broken thumb. He had a few bandages on his head, but despite his painful appearance, his face seemed smoothed over, as if he were asleep.

A doctor walked in right behind the two visitors and glared at Mrs. Valentino, "Who are you?"

"My name is Viola Valentino, this is Near. He hit this man with a car today."

The man nodded, staring at Near approvingly. Strangely warm green eyes peered out from orange tinted goggles, though in a doctor's uniform, he didn't look anything like a doctor. A very outlandish intern maybe... He was far too young to be any sort of doctor. Perhaps nineteen, maybe even twenty. No older than that. A mop of red hair plopped messily on his head. Not anything like a Doctor...

"You're a doctor?" Near asked, disbelievingly, gray eyes scrutinizing the 'doctor' before him.

"Yes, Doctor Matt. Mello is asleep right now, so please have a seat, he should be up in a little bit. He turned to Mrs. Valentino, "Ms. I'm gong to have to ask you to leave."

Doctor Matt... Where had Near heard of a Matt before?

"It's Mrs... And I'm going to stay here with Near." She plopped down in the chair closest to this Mello man, glaring at him.

"Near... Is that your name?" He smiled, cocking his head.

"It's a nickname, Doctor."

"Your real name?"

"Nate." He answered.

"Nate." He purred, "Well, I'll leave now. Mrs. Valentino, if my patient asks you to leave, then you need to do so." He turned towards the door, "Bye Nate."

The two waited quietly by the man's bedside for about ten minutes, when he slowly awoke.

Blue eyes opened to stare straight at Near.

"Hey, you're that guy..." Mello grumbled, watching warily as Near stood up to approach him.

"Yes, sir. And I'm so sorry about what happened. I was trying to teach myself to drive and I was looking over my shoulder, and when I looked back I-"

"YOU SHOULD BE MORE CAREFUL WHEN CROSSING THE ROAD!" Mrs. Valentino jumped up, arms thrown out wide.

The man named Mello's eyes narrowed into two blue slits, "Who is this?" A growl hummed angrily from somewhere deep within his throat.

"This is-"

Mrs. Valentino interrupted, "My name is Mrs. Viola Victoria Valentino! And YOU Sir have probably just ruined this young man's life because of your lack of safety knowledge! Do you know his mother is a paraplegic, and his father died serving your country in war? This is Nate River, he goes by the name Near, and you will address him as such. Furthermore, this young boy simply cannot afford your bills, for YOUR simple mistake! So we will not be here another minute!" She grabbed Near's hand, "Come Near. Let's go home and take care of your mother and sister."

"Wait just a moment Mrs. Viola Victoria Valentino." Mello snapped from his bed, "If this careless driver wasn't driving around without any proper knowledge on how to work a vehicle, I wouldn't be tied down to this bed now would I? And just so you know, because of your bitchy outburst, you can expect a call from my lawyer verrry soon. Now, I do take apologies, but it isn't going to make your punishment any less." He smiled at Near, thin lips pulling back in a fierce smirk.

"Sir please don't make any hasty decisions..." Near stepped forward, brushing past a very incredulous looking Mrs. Valentino.

"Oh?" The blonde cocked his head, waiting for Near's proposal, "And what do you have to offer? Other than a bitchy comment?"

"I..." Near glanced around the room, looking for any way out of this, "I must ask that you don't sue. But I'll do anything to make it up to you. Just please don't sue."

The man grinned lips peeling back to reveal a perfect row of dazzling white teeth, "You'll work for me. How does that sound? Help me get back on my feet and then some. And I won't sue."

"Yes. Yes that's fine. Thank you."

"I live on 4562 Patriot Lane. You should know where that is."

Near bobbed his head, white curls bouncing in agreement, "Yes, I'm just a few blocks down."

"Good. I get out of this wretched hospital tomorrow at 11:00 in the morning. Be here and we'll get a cab to drive us back to my house, because I certainly won't be having you drive us."

Near grimaced but nodded once more.

"From there, you'll stay with me until 8:00 and then we repeat the next day except you come over at the crack of dawn. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

Mrs. Valentino didn't seem willing, "What? For how long?"

"Until I recover and then some." Mello repeated.

"Thank you sir. I'll be here at 11:00. Have a good day." Near took Mrs. Valentino out of the room, bumping into Doctor Matt on the way.

"Goodbye Nate, Mrs. Valentino..." He stepped in the room, shutting the door behind him.

Once Near and Mrs. Valentino stepped inside of the elevator she turned to him, brown eyes wide, "You're actually going to work for that scumbag?"

"Yes. It's better than being sued."

"But God knows how long he'll take to recover!" She argued.

"Mrs. Valentino, this is the only option, apart from being sued. If there's any way I can help my family, I will do so."

She didn't say anything, just shook her head in disbelief, "Well I'll just make sure you get home okay... Let you talk to your family about this. Maybe you can bring your sister along..."

"Maybe..." He sighed, twirling his hair around a long white finger, thinking of how tomorrow might go over.

If he was lucky, the man wouldn't put him up to anything super hard... Near didn't do well with hard labor.

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**There were probably a few mistakes, but I only had time to proofread it twice. The computer is getting fixed so I don't want anything lost. **

**Next chapter coming soon... This one is going to blow by real fast. **


	2. Slip N' Crash

**Uh oh. 10 reviews on the first chapter. **

**PRESSURE!. e.e;This always happens. When I feel like someone actually likes my work I worry**

**that I'll screw up. But nevertheless, I always get the chapter in sooner or later. And in this case for this story,**

**it happened to be a bit later. Okay, so I'm not going to bore you with dumb excuses.. Enjoy the story! Please. ._.  
**

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Near woke up as soon as the clock struck 5:30. He didn't have an alarm clock, but he always woke up exactly the same time every morning, regardless how late he had stayed up the previous night stressing over the day ahead.

He kicked off the white sheets and shuffled into the hallway, stepping over his little sister curled up on a plush dog bed.

It wasn't that Abby didn't have a bed, she did, but once at the store she saw a really big and white fluffy dog bed. She begged and begged Mrs. Valentino to let her purchase it with the all money she had to her name and she took it home and slept on it.

The River family didn't even have a dog... So Near didn't understand why his sister would want to buy a dog bed, let alone fall asleep on it.

He padded into the kitchen and reached into the miniature refrigerator for some strawberries, the only fresh thing in his fridge.

Near had talked with his mother last night about what had happened with Mello at the hospital, she was very relieved about not being sued, and immediately agreed with Mello's idea. She didn't want Abby going along because she claimed Abby would just become a nuisance to the poor man and that he needed all the peace and quiet to rest up.

Near was nervous about going alone, but knew his mother was absolutely right; Abby was a bit of a stress to many.

Lillian River said that Near had to do whatever the man asked, even if it was something involving hard labor. Near nodded and kissed his mother goodnight, going to his room to let everything that happened sink in while he set up his dominoes neatly and quietly.

The soft purr of his mother's electric wheel chair sounded from behind him, "Good morning, Mother." He said softly.

She sighed, "Ah good morning, baby. What time do you have to go to the hospital, again?"

Near glanced at the stove clock, "11:00." It was only 6:00 now, so in a few hours he'd have to leave.

"I think you should go a little early." She smiled warmly at her son, bringing her wheel chair around next to him. His mother had to control the wheelchair with her chin to get around. Despite her disability she was very cheerful and often made herself useful. She hated being unable to move about her own home. So Near had gotten that device made specially for her.

"Yes ma'am."

"When is your sister going to wake up? I'm hungry..." Abby often fed Near's mother.

"I can help. When is Mrs. Valentino coming over?" Near took his package of strawberries to the fridge and poured his mother a bowl of Pops.

Mrs. Valentino often helped Lillian with things such as going to the restroom, cooking and bathing.

"Oh thank you sweetheart. I know you have a lot on your hands..." She opened her mouth and took a spoonful, chewing and swallowing before speaking again, "And she'll be coming over at 8:00."

Near finished feeding his mother and got up to take a shower. He grabbed a used white towel from a nearby door knob and walked into the bathroom, turning on the ice cold water.

On days like these when he was really tired or stressed it was the cold water that always did it in for him. He stepped in the running water after discarding his clothes and sucked in a harsh breath as the water felt like needles on his skin. But he didn't mind, he washed his hair, face, and body and got out. He pulled himself up to the mirror, gladly it wasn't foggy because of the lack of heat and he stared at himself.

Near wasn't ugly... But you couldn't really call him handsome. White blonde curls framed a child-like face and big gray eyes seemed too innocent for words. He was short, about five foot tall, and his shoulders were far from broad and masculine; a petite boy. No, he had never been called beautiful or manly or handsome... He always seemed to get adorable, cute and even dainty and pretty. It bothered him that he couldn't look like his father, who was tall and every bit of a man that he wasn't.

Once, Near even got mistaken for a girl... It tore his heart out.

People would say that Near surprisingly looked nothing like his father. It hurt. His father was a war hero. Someone who died in honor of his country. He died for the love of his life, and his beautiful children. Anthony River was someone anyone would want to resemble. Near's mother was lovely, sure, but being told that he looked JUST like her, enraged him. He didn't want to look anything like a woman...

He sighed and brushed a few wisps of hair from his face, long gray eyelashes swept together as he narrowed his eyes. Attempting to make himself look like a fierce-eyed man.

He just looked like a pouting child.

Gritting his teeth Near, stomped out of the bathroom and ran into Zeal who was trying to scale the hallway wall, using both walls in support of her thin legs.

"Hi Near!" She said, grabbing onto the bathroom door frame, but lost her balance and fell right on her bum.

"Hello Zeal. Your mother is here helping my mom?" Glancing down at her, Near pulled the towel closer.

She nodded standing up, not fazed by the fall, "Yeah aren't you going to help some guy you killed with your car?"

Near blinked, "I didn't kill him."

"But doesn't everyone who gets hit by a car die?"

"No. I didn't hit him that hard."

"Well, that's good!" She acknowledged before skipping off screaming, "ABBY WHERE ARE YOU?"

Near shook his head quietly to himself and trudged into his room.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Abby called from somewhere in the house before Near shut his bedroom door, muffling the sounds of giggles and squeals.

If he got ready quick enough, he might be able to get Mrs. Valentino to give him a ride to the hospital.

He towel dried his hair quickly and then slipped into his usual all-white attire, last time he didn't have shoes and felt insanely gross walking on that floor in just socked feet. So this time, he went with old ratty white sneakers not bothering with the laces.

Near caught a glimpse of the bright bold colors of his Legos sitting on the floor, calling to him. Remembering that he wasn't finished with the tower he was building, he lowered himself onto the soft carpeted floor and started playing with his toys where he had left off the previous night.

After God knows how long he stopped playing, glancing around. Something wasn't right... He had felt it all along but now he couldn't take it any longer.

"Where is Optimus?" He muttered under his breath.

The favorite transformer wasn't anywhere to be found. He checked under his bed, in his bed, and in the closet. No Optimus...

He stomped out of the room, stepping over Zeal who was rolling on the floor and grabbed Abby who was rolling next to her.

"Where is he?"

A smug smile met his frown, "What?"

Zeal giggled.

"Where is Optimus?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She and Zeal laughed.

Near sighed, "Yes you do."

"Yeah he's in my room." She glanced at the clock, "Aren't you supposed to be gone?"

Near slowly turned to stare at the clock, it read 10:48.

"Oh no." He ran outside to the front yard and crashed into Mrs. Valentino who was holding a dirt-encrusted shovel.

"Near!" She cried, dropping the shovel, staring at the wide-eyed boy.

"Can you take me to the hospital?" He panted, "I'm going to be late."

The sound of his mother's wheelchair vroomed from behind Mrs. Valentino, "Tsk... Near I told you to go early!"

"Oh! Yes I'll take you to the hospital!" She ran inside for her keys, leaving Near's mother to glower disapprovingly at her son.

"I'm sorry mom. I lost track of time." He tried to reason with her displeased eyes.

"Okay Zeal! Abby! Make sure you watch your mother! I'll be back in a few minutes! BE GOOD! And Zeal, stay out of Mrs. River's way!" Mrs. Valentino bounded out the front door and down the wheelchair ramp, into the front yard and to her car. "To the Valentino mobile!" She cried, using the passenger side of the door as leverage to hop inside the now topless Miata.

"I love this car." Near heard her grumble as he followed, opening the passenger door and sliding in.

She beamed at Near and waved at Mrs. River before zooming off towards the hospital.

Instead of coming in with him like last time, she just dropped him off at the front door, "Sorry Near, I need to get back to your house before Zeal does something reckless." She quickly spun her car around in a wild doughnut before blasting off through the parking lot.

Near couldn't help but worry where Zeal had gotten her recklessness from...

Nevertheless, he turned and padded inside the cold hospital, heading for the elevator when a strict-looking nurse stopped him.

"And where do you think you're going?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm going to go see Mello." He said monotonously, staring at her blankly.

"The man who got hit by a car yesterday?"

"Yes, I'm Near, he told me to come to him today at eleven. I really need to go."

"Oh!" Her face immediately lightened up and she pressed the elevator 'Up' button, "Yes, Doctor Matt mentioned you. You don't look like the type of person to drive around slamming into people with their cars..."

"I'm not." Near muttered, stepping into the now open elevator, "Thank you though..." He pushed number four and stared blankly as the once cross nurse waved cheerfully at him.

The doors closed and he was alone.

Near had made it up to Mello's room and knocked gently on the thick hospital door.

"Come in." It was Mello.

Near walked in and stared at the man, he was sitting in a regular wheelchair accumulated to fit his injuries. His right leg was propped up and his right arm was held close to his chest in a sling, the bandages on his head were gone and he smiled warmly up at him.

"Hello Near. My healthcare couldn't afford an electric wheelchair so you'll have to help me around okay?"

"Yes sir. Should we go now?"

"Yes, I have a taxi cab waiting outside." He leaned around Near glancing around, "But I need to wait for Doctor Matt's go ahead."

As if on cue, the red-headed 'Doctor' strolled in, smirking cockily at Near, "Hey, time to go?"

"Yes, thanks for everything." Mello nodded shortly before smiling at Near, "Let's go."

The white haired boy nodded and walked around behind Mello, rolling him out of the room and into the elevator down the hall.

Pressing the bottom floor number Near took his spot behind Mello once more.

"So what do you do for fun, Near?" Mello asked, not turning around.

"I don't really have time for fun." He said softly, glancing at the straight fine blonde strands on the back of Mello's head.

"Oh? And why is that?" The blonde head cocked slightly, awaiting an answer.

The elevator door swooshed open and Near stepped out, rolling Mello out in front, "I need to take care of my family."

"Ohh, a family man. You're young... I didn't except that. I thought your mother was paralyzed and your father was dead?"

"No. I mean, I need to take care of my mother and sister. I don't have a girlfriend or anything like that." He felt like punching himself in the head for mentioning 'anything like that.'

"Anything like that, huh?" The blonde man chuckled, "Hmm..."

"I- er no... I'm not gay." Now he felt like kicking himself in the head for mentioning homosexuality. But he had a point, just because he had feminine features didn't mean he was gay. Some people did happen to question his sexuality.

"Oh? That wasn't really what I was talking about. But that's too bad." Mello tsked in disappointment.

Near felt his eye twitch violently. He didn't know what to say... So he didn't say anything more. He led Mello out and helped him into the waiting cab, folding the wheelchair up and setting it in the trunk. Near walked around and settled himself in the back of the taxi next to Mello.

"So," Mello grinned, Mello could now stare him straight in the eye, despite Near's disliking to it. "when we get home, how about we have something to eat? I want lunch."

Near nodded, "I can cook-"

"No. I'll order something. If you can't drive a car, I can't imagine how unstable your cooking is." He smirked.

He was right... Near couldn't cook to save his life. The only cook in the family was Abby. And she was nine.

Mello looked at Near's defeated face and smiled gently, "It's okay. It's not your fault you can't do anything right."

Near blinked, slightly angered. But he let it drop. "Okay then." He mumbled.

Mello chuckled, "Oh driver, turn up that road on the left."

"Yes sir." The man turned onto the road and they found themselves on Patriot lane.

And suddenly Near was hit with a wave of nausea. The realization of being all alone with this stranger hit him as hard as Mello got hit by his car. And the sick feeling only became more prominent as the driver stopped at 4562 Patriot Lane.

"Alright, here." Mello chirped cheerfully, "Get out."

While Near hurried to the popped open trunk to get the wheelchair, Mello tossed a twenty at the cabbie.

"Here. Keep the change." He growled, grabbing onto Near to help himself into the open and ready wheelchair.

"Oh, thank you sir." The driver beamed widely as Mello just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Come on Near." He tapped the boy who began to walk them up the long winding driveway.

"Do you have the keys?" Near asked, gaping at the grand house before him.

"Mhm." Mello tossed the keys over his shoulder but they flew over Near's head, so he scurried off to retrieve them as they landed somewhere in the neatly cut grass.

He found them by the only large shady oak tree in the front yard and plucked them up. He gripped Mello's wheelchair and stared in awe at the giant house.

He had seen this house plenty of times walking by on the street, and had always wondered why such a magnificent piece of architecture lived in such a crappy neighborhood like Sandypoint.

It was like those beautiful houses you see when you drive along the bayside, luxurious mansions that seemed only for display, rather than a place for living.

The property was at the very left end of Patriot Lane, before it turned right into Jackson Road and the property had about ten acres to it's name, whilst all the other houses weren't even measured in acres. While only one piece of the acreage made up the front yard, the rest of the acres belonged to the forest that stretched out behind it.

The house itself had large windows that let in every bit of sunshine from every angle. The house was probably about two floors, unless if you counted three floors if there was a basement. Two beautiful marble pillars were set in front of the large double rosy wooden doors. Salt colored grand stairs led right up to the spacious wrap-around patio. Outdoor furniture sat together off to the far right of the front door, a small woven love seat, two chairs in the same style of the love seat and a glass coffee table.

Mello glanced up at Near, who was just gawking at his house, fumbling with the keys like an idiot. "Near?"

He blinked before turning to the man, "Oh I'm sorry, It... I-"

"Let's go inside shall we?"

"Yes." Near found the key to the front door on his first try and pushed Mello inside, having to tilt the chair back and forth to get him up the stairs and through the door. The first sign that there was going to be hard labor with this job.

"Alright!" Mello smiled around at his home, "Home sweet home. Now..." He grabbed his phone set on his lap, "Let's order pizza."

Near nodded, and stepped away from Mello, looking around the house.

A beautiful, extravagant staircase was the first that caught the eye, it lay off to the far left of the main entrance. It was the same type of redwood as the front door and the wooden floors, and a carefully carved railing lined the stairs as they swept up to the second floor.

"No...! Do I have to buy the damn chocolate for you?"

Near was snapped back to reality by Mello's angry voice.

"No no... Since you're completely useless I'll call another pizza place. Good day." He snapped his phone shut grumbling frustratedly to himself.

"Do you want me to order?"

"No, you're probably incapable of that too." He flipped open his phone again, "Hello, I would like to place an order." His voice was suddenly warm and inviting again, "Yes ma'am. My name would be under Keehl. Yes that's me. I would like to order three large pizzas, and I want you to listen carefully since the other pizza place I called was hopeless."

There was an agreeing sound on the other end allowing Mello to continue with his order.

"The first pizza: I want chocolate sauce in place of the tomato sauce, and in place of the cheese I want strawberries, and for the topping I want more chocolate sauce. Can you do that for me, Miss?"

There was a long pause.

"Do you have the supplies to make my first pizza? If so, I'll continue my order." He shifted a little in his seat, listening to the order taker, "Good. I'm glad we're in business then."

He covered the phone and glanced at Near, "Will you take me into the kitchen?"

Near nodded and started wheeling down the hall, looking for the kitchen, because it was apparent Mello wasn't going to give him directions.

"You're going the wrong way, sweetheart." Mello grumbled, cocking his head to the right.

Near stiffened at the nickname but turned into two white double doors that resembled those doors that only luxurious restaurants have.

Near was right about the luxurious thing...

The whole kitchen was incredibly well lit, there was a fridge that was even taller than he was! The fridge he had back at home often broke, and was smaller than Abby. There was a large stove in the middle of the kitchen. That was awfully strange... And it was the glass kind he saw at Lowes without the need for fire. There was even a microwave hovering over the counter.

"Okay, yeah. Thank you. Okay... yeah... yeah that's my order... Yeah, Patriot Lane. Okay b-... Yes." Mello's voice started to become impatient, "Okay yes." He snapped, "Yes ma'am. I said yes. Yes. Okay... Yeah I-" He grit his teeth, "OKAY BYE!" The angry blonde tossed his phone on the counter.

"Is everything alright?" Near tugged softly on a curly white tendril. He felt uncomfortably like a maid. Waiting on this man's hand and foot. Or rather, broken arm and leg.

"Yeah, just that dumb bitch kept forgetting my order." He pointed to the fridge, "On top of the fridge is some whine. Get me some."

"Oh. I don't know if you should drink in your condition... Aren't you on pain medication?" Near also didn't want to be alone with someone who was under the influence of alcohol.

"Nah. I wouldn't let them put me on anything. I want to feel." He started using his free arm to try and roll himself towards the fridge.

Near sighed and hurried up to the giant fridge, "How shall I get up there?" He asked more to himself rather than the blonde behind him.

"Climb onto the counter. But take off your shoes... I don't want the germs from the hospital to get on my clean counter."

"Yes." Near kicked off his shoes, and pressed his hands onto the smooth marble counter, lifting himself up.

"Be careful." Mello said nervously behind him, voice dripping with sincere concern.

Near slowly stood up, clinging to the fridge, he glanced down, Mello was staring up at him, watching with caution, his free arm held open slightly.

Near had never liked heights... He didn't like anything that didn't pertain to him sitting comfortably, and certainly safely on the ground.

Near reached over and gripped a bottle of wine, but his socked foot slipped on the curved edge of the counter and he lost his balance.

Even an idiot could predict what was about to happen in the following series of events.

In slow motion Near fell backwards, right into Mello's lap. The blonde man grunted in surprise and pain as hurt his arm was ruthlessly crushed beneath Near's weight. To make matters worse, the bottle of wine cracked loudly against the fridge, shattering open and spilling over the two in a rain of sharp shards of glass and rain of red wine. What rotten luck...

* * *

**Cliffie or whaat? **

**Um, bear with me... I don't exactly know how long this next chapter will take, but I actually already started working on the next one. So it might get in sooner. =D **

**I can't promise anything though. I have trouble with those kind of things. I lose track of time to quickly. **

**Can you believe it's Thursday already? God... Being home all the time... This is why I fail at home school. D; **

**Well I hoped you liked this chapter, because this story should be pretty good!  
**


	3. Hell House

**NOTE: This chapter is horrible! D; There is nothing good in here. And I despise myself (at this moment) about this chapter. I want to eat my own face… Anyways, this chapter has a bit ****of… nakieness in it… And blahness that is soo stupid… Anyways, there was no other way around it… If I can get this out of the way… this story will take off. **

** Forgive me…**

** Oh and a thanks to Anon532 for pointing out my mistake on 'Whine vs. Wine'. How foolish of mee. D; Anyways, don't enjoy this chapter. It's stupid. **

**

* * *

**

Mello stared down at Near in horror, the boy was covered in wine and blood. The boy was also unconscious.

"N-Near?" He asked worriedly.

No answer.

Mello shook the boy but nothing happened.

"Shit..." Mello slipped his right arm out of his sling and scooped Near up, rising.

He laid the boy on the large counter and started picking out the glass that was sticking to his forehead. Luckily, there were no major gashes, just a few small shallow cuts, he checked Near out for any major problems. Other than a few bruises, the boy seemed fine. Just knocked out of it by the bottle crashing on his head.

Mello breathed a sigh of relief, the little bunny was okay.

There's that bunny word again...

But that… is an explanation for another day.

"Nng…" Near groaned, pale lips peeling back in a pained grimace.

Mello plopped down in his chair, dragging Near off the counter and into his lap, sliding his right arm back into it's sling, then waited.

Near took about five minutes to fully wake up from his unconscious slumber.

"Near? Are you okay?" Mello asked, staring down at the boy.

"Y-Yes."

"Do you remember who I am?" Mello chewed on his lip.

"It wasn't that bad of a fall…" Near grumbled, scrambling out of Mello's lap and taking his place to the man's left.

Blue eyes watched intently as the boy swayed slightly, but gained his composure with the help of Mello's arm.

"I was just checking." Mello exclaimed, "Anyways, you've got wine all over you, and you're bleeding as well. I think I need a bath, you can help me with that too."

Near's eyes grew wide and he shook his head, he was probably expecting to do a lot of jobs for this man, bathing him however, was not one of them.

Expect the unexpected…

"What's the problem, Near?" Mello watched the boy's unwilling expression.

"I have to bathe you?"

"Well, I won't be able to do it very well…" He glanced down at his broken limbs.

Near looked too, not wanting to meet the man's eyes anymore. He just tugged on his hair and did or said nothing.

"Near, it will just be a quick scrubbing down, a cloth bath. Why are you afraid? We're both men." Mello felt bad… Near acted as if he hadn't even seen himself naked before, and now Mello was going to make him bathe a strange man.

Bullcrap.

He was the one who hit him with a car.

"Okay, to the bathroom. There's a full bathroom out the door and to the right." Mello pointed towards the double kitchen doors.

"I-"

"Come on." Mello coaxed.

Then the doorbell rang, and Near breathed a sigh of relief.

"That must be the pizza." Mello grumbled, "Will you take me to the front door?"

"Yes." Near started rolling Mello out the doors and down the hall. Mello wasn't very happy at his over eagerness to get away from the bathroom.

Near opened the door and smiled a very odd-like smile at the pizza-delivery woman.

Mello just glowered at the cock-blocker. What business did she have coming up to his house and stopping Near from giving him the bath of his life?

"Hi!" She beamed at the two men, "You're pizzas are here!"

"No shit." Mello grumbled.

Either she didn't hear him or chose to ignore it.

She was a small Japanese woman, about as tall as Near, maybe taller, her nametag read, Misa-Misa-Chan.

What a weird name… Well, she was Japanese. But this was America…

"Here you go!" She plopped them on Mello's open lap, he sneered at her as she backed away, wiggling her fingers in a happy wave.

"Thank you, Miss." Near nodded, gently prodding her out the door, away from Mello

"Oh no problemoo! That will be twenty-five!" 'Misa-Misa-Chan' spun around, little blonde pigtails bouncing, holding out a manicured hand.

"Yes." Mello grumbled, grabbing two twenties and throwing them at her, the green rectangles of paper fluttering to the ground behind her, "Keep the change."

"Oooo! Awesome! New shoes!" She bent to pick the money up when Mello slammed the door right on her turned over rump.

"Dumbass." Mello grouched, "Drop these off in the kitchen, and let us get cleaned up."

"I…"

"Hurry up." Mello pointed down the hall, "Wet pants don't feel good."

"Yes sir…" Near bobbed his head silently, trying to roll Mello down the hall as slow as possible.

"I love it how you're trying to stall. Any day now…" Mello was becoming impatient with Near's obvious attempts not to help him get clean. His fingertips drummed the metal framing of his wheelchair.

But Near couldn't move slow enough, because within about two short measly minutes, he was faced with stripping the fierce-eyed blonde.

"Alright, let's get my pants off first." Mello wiggled his hips as much as he could without moving his 'fractured' leg.

Near gripped the waistband of the blonde's wet black sweat pants and started to pull down, meeting black boxers with pink little playboy bunnies all over them. He bit his lip to keep from gagging, and gingerly dragged Mello's pants off. He decided for the shirt to come off next.

Mello noticed Near reaching for his shirt and pushed his hands away, "I didn't get any wine on my shirt…"

"But I-"

"I have wine in between my legs and it's irritating my skin." He shifted in his seat, a whine slipping from his lips.

"I-"

Mello whimpered lowly again, but it sounded more like a seductive growl as he rolled his hips up, trying to get away from the wet rash forming between his legs.

Near backed away, a frown gracing his delicate pink lips, "I'm not doing this…" He threw down the sweatpants and shook his head, hands up in a rejecting gesture, as if mentally pushing away the perversion on wheels.

"Near!" Mello snapped, "Take…It…Off…"

Near let out an exasperated cry and yanked down the pink bunnied boxers, whipping his head away from the sight he didn't want to see.

"There are washcloths underneath the sink." Mello shifted his legs, breathing a sigh of relief as his lower skin soaked up the cool air-conditioning. How he wished he could just stop this damned charade, he could just do this himself.

Near wrenched himself away from the wheelchair and basically threw himself at the ground, sucking in gulps of air.

He had never seen someone other than himself naked… Well when his sister was only eight months old, he saw, and he had to change her diaper until she turned five, even then he didn't like it…. Anyways, Near would probably never get used to seeing naked people. He didn't even go through the 'horny-teenager' phase, so he had never even wanted to see a nude human being…

And now, all alone with this creepy NAKED man in a cramped up bathroom, didn't make anything any better.

He grabbed a soft brown washcloth and ran it under the faucet until it was completely soaked, then he wrung it out and let it flop onto the man's lap.

"Near… seriously. It won't hurt you."

The man was obviously referring to his manhood, but Near tried not to listen, "Uh um… Oh you have your free hand."

"Near, we're both guys here. Come on… I'm disabled right now…"

"How will you fend for yourself at night?" Near asked, staring at himself in the mirror, still avoiding Mello's intense eyes.

"I have neighbors." The man rolled his eyes, but the boy didn't see his apparent frustration, he could only hope the teen sensed it.

"Why don't they-"

"Hmm, I wonder how my lawyer is doing… Maybe I should call him-"

Near bit his lip, the man was resorting to blackmail… "Sir! That is not being fair I-"

"Hmm." Mello glanced around, "Where is my pho-"

Near slammed his hand onto the man's lap, glowering at the blonde, rubbing the wash cloth around harshly.

Mello sucked in a pained breath, "Ow?" He slapped Near's hand off of him, "Go easy, kid. That's my money-maker."

Near could feel his stomach lurch, his throw-up-maker… He felt the bitterness of bile at the back of his throat, and he swallowed it down before vomit could follow. He was completely and irrevocably revolted… What a pervert!

"Come on… you're almost done… just get this wine off of my thighs and you're done…"

Near quickly whisked away all traces of the alcoholic beverage without looking, and stepped back.

Mello shook his head, grumbling about something or someone being incompetent and unhelpful…

"Well…" The blonde spoke up, "You've only been here... about an hour and a half and already we're off to a bad start." He glanced up at the boy, "Look, I can tell you don't feel comfortable with me..."

Near stared down at him, slightly relieved that the man understood, "Thank-"  
"But I don't care." Mello smiled sweetly, a little dangerous glint dancing in his sapphire orbs, "Now, get in the shower. You're lucky I won't bother to watch you."  
Near's relief faded, and he glanced at the shower, it was one of the little tiny corner showers that are only big enough for one person... THANK GOD. But it was also one of those transparent kinds that make your body look all fuzzy and hard to see.  
Still...  
"Would you like me to wheel you to the kitchen so you can eat your pizza before it gets cold?"  
"Nah. I'll just hang out here." Mello shook his head, using his free hand to grab a soft white towel from behind the toilet, "Here, use this."  
The fluffy towel was slammed right into Near's face. Lowering the towel, Near glared at Mello, "I don't think that was necessary."  
"Oh and before you go in, I need you to put my pants back on."  
Near spun and jumped in the shower, slamming the door shut behind him. He shed all of his white attire and tossed it over the side.

"Make sure you wash your cuts..." Mello bit his lip as Near turned on the hot water, steam clouding the room within a minute.

Mello could hear Near hissing a few times, and he even growled as the scalding water stung his wounds. Mello winced at the poor boy's sounds.

You'd think the young boy didn't really care much about his personal hygiene, considering the un-brushed hair and rumpled clothes he always donned... But in reality, the boy didn't have flawless porcelain skin for nothing, he scrubbed every inch of his body and took his time doing it too. He was in there for about twenty-five minutes before he eventually turned off the water and stepped out, pale skin flushed to perfection, towel tightly wrapped around his torso.

Mello had to keep himself from staring... or drooling. Averting his eyes, he stared down at his hands, blushing-

WAIT... Why was he being all shy and bashful like a fucking school-girl all of a sudden? He whipped his head up and crudely watched Near as he quickly scooped all of his clothes up and darted back in the shower again to change.

"Hold on... Don't change into those dirty clothes again. You can wear some of mine." Mello kicked the shower door with his free foot.

"No, no. It's alright." Near disagreed lightly.

"No it's not. Get out here." Mello argued.

"Yes... yes its fine." Near pushed.

"Near, get out here." Mello kicked the door again.

"I said it's alright."

"Hmm… You know, there was this kid who hit me with a car yesterday… I never got to sue… But I sure am thinking about it…"

"What?"

"NOW!" Mello snapped, slamming his foot hard into the door, causing Near to nearly hop out of his skin.

Near pushed open the shower door and stepped out, blinking, openly annoyed, "You really should calm down, Sir. Not in your condition."

Near was treating him like a baby. In some ways, Mello enjoyed it… but not now.

"Ah whatever." Mello rolled his eyes, "Take me to my room. It's up the stairwell, but that shouldn't be too hard for you… Even if you are painfully incompetent."

There was no talking to this guy.

Near tightened his towel closer around him and laid another towel over Mello's lower body so he wouldn't have to look at the man's genitals.

Near rolled the man out of the steamy bathroom, the fog pouring out of the door as if it were trapped in that small room forever.

Within moments, Near was facing the Doom Stairs. This was going to be hell for him.

~.~

* * *

The two males were now sitting across from each other from their spots at the kitchen table. Near in a kitchen chair, Mello in his wheelchair. Both men were now in fresh clean clothes. A little change that Near didn't want to remember. Near was nibbling on his first chocolate pizza with uncertainty while Mello was chowing down on his seventh slice.

Near was grossed out at this place. Having to clean an older man's genitals and then having to eat chocolate pizza… What's next?

You know what? He didn't want to know. He glanced at the clock, the time was going too slow… It was only 3:00. Five more hours?

"I think after this, I wanna watch a few movies." Thin lips jerked up in a little smile, "I think I want to watch Boogie Nights… and maybe Good Luck Chuck."

"What are those about?" Near placed down his pizza and pushed it away, not hungry.

"You'll see." The man winked.

This house was hell.


	4. Creepy

**Oh.. XDD I finally get the next chapter up this late. FORGIVE ME! I have no excuses other than writer's block and laziness. **

**Right now I'm writing this from my laundry room.. BUT I'M NOT DOING LAUNDRY. derp. XDD I think the laundry room is a great source of inspiration! Plus I'm spending time with my ferrets because they play in here. Bandit! Lucky! Say hi! **

**Rai: -Drags ferret around keyboard-**

**Bandit: /8u,y;uylku7ysaasd**

**Lucky: I'm fat. :o**

**Because of my bad writer's block this chapter probably isn't going to be very…. Good.. I'm just lost on this story.. Hopefully I'll get back on my feet and make the NEXT chapter much better. **

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Mello didn't necessarily stick to his original movie plans. After countless times of changing his mind, he finally selected a very awkward Brokeback Mountain.

Near was forced to sit on the couch right next to Mello throughout the entire movie. Rough kissing scenes between the men were the worst. Mello would chuckle as Near shifted around cutely, biting his lip and avoiding Mello's heated gazes.

Mello, not usually one patient enough to sit through a full movie, decided to sit through the whole thing just to watch Near.

"Are you even watching?" Near had asked at one point, having caught Mello staring in awe at him.

Mello just laughed and ignored the adorable younger boy.

When the credits finally rolled through, Near almost died with relief.

"Yeah, thank God that's over," Mello snapped sarcastically, turning the lights on with his special remote.

He glanced over at Near who was curled up on the couch blushing profusely, tugging on a soft white blonde curl. He looked so… delectable.

"Well, what do you want to do now?"

"I-" Near was interrupted by the faint chime of the doorbell.

Mello stiffened in his wheelchair, glancing at the digital clock on the wall, "Just ignore it."

Near shot Mello a baffled look, "Why."

"Just... 'cause."

"It could be someone important."

"Or not," Mello shrugged with a forced air of nonchalance.

The doorbell rang again.

"It's probably just a sales person, Near."

"It could be urgent," Near argued, wondering why Mello didn't want the door answered.

"Fine. Go answer it."

Near left the room, leaving Mello to fret alone. As soon as the movie room door swung shut, Mello jumped to his feet. He walked over to the window on the far left of the room and opened the black curtain, tittering at the flashy red sports car parked in his driveway. And much to Mello's chagrin, it wasn't the little red Miata that Mrs. Valentino drove.

Muffled voices coming from the hallway caused Mello to launch himself at his chair. Just as he situated himself, a blank-faced Near entered the room.

"Care to explain, Mello?" He said in an unnervingly calm manner.

Matt stepped in from behind Near, biting his lip, "Hey, dude," He waved sheepishly.

"Oh, Near, I see you've met my doctor."

"He's not a doctor!"

"I'm a GREAT doctor," Matt grumbled.

"Explain," Near ordered.

Mello was stuck. There was no way he could slip out of this. No calculating out a believable excuse, because Matt was here and not being a doctor...

"I'm hungry," Matt complained, breaking Mello's train of thought.

"Matt's my doctor _and_ my best friend," Mello blurted, "Why do you think I got such a great deal on the hospital bill?"

Near just shook his head, "I've had enough," He swiveled around to the door.

"Near!" Mello called to his back, "I can sue! You know! I'll call my lawyer."

His threats were in vain.

"Is Matt your lawyer too?" He crossed his arms and glowered at Mello.

Matt shifted from one foot to another, "I'm a great lawyer..."

"MATT."

"Do you guys have any food?"

"MATT," Mello yelled, "SHUT UP."

Matt hung his head.

"Near," Mello pleaded, "I-"

"Is your leg even broken?"

"Deefiinnnee bro-"

"UNFORTUNATELY," Mello yelled over Matt, "You hitting me with your car was real," His voice was very hurried, "So yes. My leg is broken."

"Then why haven't you seen a real doctor? Why don't you have a real lawyer?" Near questioned.

"I have seen a real doctor and I DO have a real lawyer. Matt just keeps showing up in the wrong places," He grit his teeth.

"Why would you lie about it?"

Near was a lot smarter than he let on. He was giving Mello the hardest fucking time. So Mello decided to just keep purging lies.

"I-"

"Near. Really. Okay. Enough with the questions. You shouldn't stress him out. I should have explained that Mello doesn't like people knowing about his personal matters," Matt interjected, stepping in front of Near, "How about we take Mello to bed? That's what I was here for."

Near glanced over his shoulder at Mello and sighed in defeat, "Alright," He shuffled over and starting pushing Mello's wheelchair out in the hall.

"Go down the hall that way," Matt pointed, "There's an elevator on the lef-"

"There's an elevator?" Near glared down at Mello's blonde head.

"Oh yeah," Mello's shoulders shook with silent laughter.

Near loaded Mello up in the elevator and pouted in the corner of the elevator as he waited for it to take them to the next floor.

He turned to Matt, "Are you going to stay with him tonight?"

Matt nodded, "Yeah," He didn't sound too happy about it.

They made their way to Mello's bedroom and together they both helped him out of his day clothes and into a pair of clean comfortable sweats.

Mello hopped to the bed on his good foot and eased himself onto the mattress, "Thank you, Near," His eyes burned into Near's.

Near didn't answer and turned to leave.

"Oh Neaarr," Mello cooed, "Don't I get a goodnight kiss?"

Near stared at the door with a blank mask settling over his face. This man was just... augh, "No."

Matt tsked, "It's the least you can do. After all you hit him with your car and then accused him of a liar!"

Melllo whined and cradled his arm, "It hurts... My arm and leg... they are broken. And now so is my heart!" He groaned, hamming it up, clutching his chest in false pain.

"No," Near said sternly, "I'm not going to kiss you."

A loud, annoying sob ripped out of Mello's throat, "LOOK ME IN THE EYE WHEN YOU CRUSH MY HEART."

"LOOK HIM IN THE EYE!" Matt cried, choking into his hand to hide his laugh.

Near rolled his eyes and turned around, glaring at the two men, "I'm not going to kiss you."

"Matt will do it," Mello grabbed Matt and suddenly the two were locked in a passionate, fiery make-out session.

Near stared at them in horror before spinning around and rushing out of the room. Their teasing laughter bubbled after him.

Near was stepping out of the front door when Matt came sprinting down the stairs after him.

"Wait," He huffed, breathless from running, "I can... let me... let-" He struggled to catch his breath, "Let me drive you home."

Near blinked, "I don't know..."

"Come on. I gotta run out anyways!" He stepped out of the door, taking Near's arm and dragging him down the steps.

Near followed him reluctantly and settled himself in the red Chevrolet, inhaling the sweet leather upholstery.

The ride in the car with Matt was not as bad as Near thought it was. Matt had something that Mello didn't: Being able to talk to Near without coming off as a horny creep.

"So anyways, I finished Portal 2 in one day. It's a good game. It makes you think! And when Black Ops first came out, I stayed up all night and played it all day. It was awesome! But the novelty of it kinda wore off after the first week. And now the hottest thing right now is Modern Warfare 3. And that's coming out next month. I'm so excited. And Skyrim is coming out too. AND Saints Row The Third. And..."

What Matt was even talking about, didn't even concern Near. What was concerning Near was waiting for a pause in Matt's never ending speech so he could tell Matt he just missed the turn.

"Saints Row is going to be so good. Anyways, what do you like doing for fun, Near?"

"You just passed the turn," Near grumbled.

"Oh damnn. I hate that. Alright," He waited until there were no cars and did a swift, illegal U-turn and drove back to Near's street, "Sorry about that, dude. Okay, which house is yours?"

Near pointed at the house on the left with the red Miata in front.

"Who's got the girly little Mazda?" Matt asked, smirking at Mrs. Valentino's shiny little car.

"Our neighbor," He replied quietly, stepping out of the car, "Erm... thank you for the ride," He muttered awkwardly.

Matt smiled, "No problem! See you tomorrow! If Mello lets me, I'mma hang out with you guys."

Near felt a smile tug at his lips, "I'd like that," Perhaps Matt being there would keep Mello from acting so wild. That, or make it worse.

"Yeah but Mello probably won't let me. He wants you all to himself, you know!" He threw back his head and laughed, his eyes glittering behind his goggles.

Near scowled and slammed the door, cutting off Matt's laugh.

He glanced at his house and saw Abby and Zeal peeking out the window curiously, he waved at them and they disappeared.

Matt poked his head out the car window, "BYE NEAR."

Near ignored him and hurried inside.

"Oh! Near!" Mrs. Valentino appeared in the kitchen doorway, holding an oven mitt, "You're back! I was going to pick you up..."

"Matt took me home."

"Hey Near!" Abby ran around the corner and skidded to a halt in front of him, "Me and Zeal were playing Indians today and I made a spear! Wanna see?"

Near did not want to see. Truthfully, he was exhausted. It had already been one day, and Mello was wearing him out. But, nevertheless, he loved his sister and was willing to humor her a bit, "Sure, show me."

She ran into the kitchen and came out with a stick that had a plastic knife duct-taped to it, "I already killed Zeal. You wanna see the crime scene?"

Near shut his eyes and breathed. In through the nose, out through the mouth. No, Abby. I don't want to see Zeal pretending to be dead. For once I want to go to sleep, "Sure, Abby. I'd love to see the crime scene," Damn.

She led him out to the backyard and to a little bundle of sheets on the ground.

Abby grabbed one corner of the sheet and said dramatically, "Wanna view the remains?"

Near fought back a sigh of irritation and nodded.

She peeled away the sheet and revealed Zeal.

She was lying in the most uncomfortable position. Her leg twisted underneath her and her arm was thrown lazily over her face, shielding her eyes from the sun. There was a little bit of red goop smeared across her forehead, and judging from the bottle only a mere few feet away from her, it was just ketchup.

"Look closely! Move her arm. I stabbed her eyes out."

Near's eyebrows furrowed, that wasn't the most appropriate thing for a little girl to say. But, still humoring her, he gingerly took Zeal's arm and lifted it from her face.

Suddenly...

"ROAARR! BOO!" Zeal jumped up, her arms flailing. One flung into Near's head, clipping one of his bruises.

He jumped back, clutching the now throbbing bruise and resisted the urge to kick her.

He turned and stalked into his room, ignoring the giggling girls.

Near flopped on his bed and tangled himself up in his soft white sheets. He felt around for his stuffed bunny and pulled him close, cradling the plush toy and falling fast asleep.

* * *

Mello furiously ripped off his cast and tore his arm out of it's sling. He kicked his wheelchair over and crawled onto his bed, angrily punching his pillow.

Matt walked in the room with a plastic bag full of apology chocolate, "Dude, I didn't mean to just burst in today. I didn't know he was coming today."

Mello pinched his fingers together, "I was THIS close to losing him, Matt," Mello folded his arms, "You know the least you could have done was called me to check."

"But I'm so accustomed to just dropping by," Matt pouted, "Don't be angry with me."

Mello ignored him, "How am I going to get him to open up to me?"

"Don't be such a creep."

Mello frowned. He wasn't a creep. Near was just so cute and... just so cute... how could he resist that? "I'm not a creep."

"Yeah you are. You made out with me just to freak him out. You're creepy. And obsessive."

"I'm not creepy!" Mello snapped, "And I'm not obsessive either."

"What is your fetish."

"You know what my fetish is!"

"Just say it," Matt demanded.

"I know where you're going with this."

"Mello."

"I like bunny costumes."

"What does Near remind you of."

Mello didn't answer.

"See. You're creepy! Ever since he hit you with his car you wanted to dress Near up like a rabbit and have sex with him." Matt simpered. The smug look on his face made Mello want to punch him square in the face.

"Okay. _You're_ the creepy one," Mello snapped defensively, "I never thought that."

"Just admit it," Matt pressed.

"I'm not creepy," Mello insisted, becoming flustered now.

"What is it about bunny costumes that get you hot? Are you a sadist and you like seeing them be humiliated, or do you just think they're cute?"

"NEITHER. GET OUT."

Matt twirled around the room, "What if we take a photograph of Near in pain and then draw bunny ears on it? Then you can jack off to it," He was laughing hysterically now.

Mello growled and angrily yanked at the covers, burrowing in them to escape Matt's annoying laughter. Matt climbed on the bed and laughed mockingly in his ear. It wasn't even a real laugh, just a loud, obnoxious, _".HAH."_

Mello latched onto Matt's dark red hair and heaved the slightly smaller of the two onto the floor, "Go to sleep or go home, Matt," He growled, "I'm still angry at you for almost fucking things up."

Matt sighed, "I'll just go to sleep," He tried to crawl in bed, but Mello kicked him off.

"In the guest bedroom."

"Aww... But I want to snuuuggle."

"Now!"

"YOU HATE ME," Matt slunk off the bed and dragged himself across the floor, "You'd let Near sleep with you..."

"OUT!"

Matt giggled and rushed out of the room, narrowly avoiding a pillow to the head.

* * *

**Yay... this chapter is over. Mello's fetish is out. Matt is hilarious. And Near needs to open up. What will happen next! I don't even know.. D; Aaaaawwwaaahh. **

**I don't deserve your loving reviews. But I'd like them anyways. ;D Critiques are greatly appreciated!**


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